I am auctioning one hand-made camouflage ball-pen, all monies raised going to H4H.

I am a former Scots Guardsman, wounded in the FI and disabled out. I took up woodturning as a hobby many years ago. Not the easiest of hobbies when you only have one fully working hand but who wants an easy life??

One of the offshoots of this hobby is making pens in wood and acrylic.

Working from a kit of parts plus a blank of cast acrylic (See photo below), I turn the acrylic on a lathe, working it down to a shaped tube to fit the kit involved. This turned tube is then sanded to an ultra-fine finish (12,000 grit , yes, twelve thousand!, for those interested in this sort of thing) and then hand polished to a lovely shine. Once these tubes are finished, 2 for each pen, then everything is assembled and the finished pen is given a final polish.

These acrylic blanks are cast by hand (not by me) which means that the swirling colours are randomly created in production giving each blank a uniqueness of its own. With the pen being created by hand, not by a copying machine, you may see other camouflage pens but I can guarantee that your pen will be unique.

The acrylic used is pretty much resistant to most daily contaminants so should stay looking good for many years. I have made a lot of pens and the older acrylics are still looking like new.

The pen design is known as a Cigar Pen. The Cigar Pen is designed for those who prefer a hefty, more masculine looking pen. The pen on offer has its metal parts plated in black that, I think, ties in nicely with the camouflage acrylic and gives a nice military feel. The pen takes a standard Parker refill and I will include a couple of free spares so you should be good to write for ages. The pen is supplied in a velvet sleeve and I will pack it very carefully for posting.

All monies raised for this auction will be donated to H4H; I will cover the postage costs. You will be bidding for a single pen. These pens usually retail from the various penmakers for between £20  30.00 each. However, any monies raised are going to a good cause so I will not be picky about passing it on for any amount.

So, present for a loved one, present for yourself, perfect for largeing it up in the clerks office or whipping out in the bank/pub/brothel when signing for stuff. Dig Deep people, this stuff doesnt come around often!